


Reunion of the Heart

by musicjunkie1987



Series: Centuries [1]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Family Drama, Gen, Mentions of past, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 07:51:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13566108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicjunkie1987/pseuds/musicjunkie1987
Summary: The Shield is going one on one with the New Day at Survivor Series, but there may be more on the line than just Brand bragging rights.  There may be a reunion brewing.





	Reunion of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Summaries aren't my strong suite, so I hope that it intrigued enough to get people to read. This is the first time in a while I'm dabbling in the WWE universe. I hope everyone enjoys it. I have taken some liberties on some things. Once you read it I think you'll figure it out. I'm not very good at writing out matches, even ones that have already happened, so I'm sorry if that sucks. Title comes from "Reunion of the Heart" by the Hollies. Rated for language, I don't own anyone or anything you may recognize.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

I stood on the top of the stairs, over looking the arena, watching as the crew got the ring and the rest of the stage set up for tonight’s PPV, Survivor Series. No one really knew or understood how much went into out travelling circus. This was my favorite part of the day. Seeing how everything came together. I can remember coming to shows first with my father and later my cousin, when I was younger, I was always able to slip away and watch. After a while some of the wrestlers would come out and go through their matches, that’s when I would get bored and head back.

Before I go any further, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is JD Anoa’i. Yes, another member of the prestigious Anoa’I wrestling family. It’s a blessing and a curse, for me at least. My father is Sika, who was part of the Wild Samoans. My cousin is the Rock. Therefore, my brother is Roman Reigns. But to me, he’ll always be Joe.

I felt someone come up behind me. Knowing it could only be a select number of people, I turned around and smiled at one of my closest friends on the roster.

“I knew I’d find you up here,” Dean Ambrose, or Jon Good to me, said as he put an arm around me shoulders.

I smiled. “Oh yeah. And how did you know that?”

“Because after all this time, you haven’t changed. You’ve done this since the day I met you. If fact, that’s how we met. Hell, you’ve done this since you were a kid, according to your brother.”

“Ah, my brother. How is the enforcer doing?”

“Better. Wants to see you but knows you need some time before the show.”

“It’s not about needing time. This is a big night. For everyone, not just me.”

“Have you talked to Paul and Stephanie?”

“No. I’ve been hiding.”

“Go. Last I heard there may have been some changes tonight.”

“To what?”

“Just trust me. Come on, I’ll go with you, so nothing happens.”

We walked in silence me walking with my head down. It’s not that I don’t enjoy being backstage and around everyone, it’s more of a trying to avoid most people.

Jon and I finally made it to the makeshift office for our bosses. I looked up at him and he gestured to knock. Knowing we wouldn’t get anywhere unless I did, I knocked three times and heard a gruff ‘come in’, I opened the door and walked in, not expecting what or who was in front of me.

On one side of the room stood the three guys I had been currently working with, The New Day. Now, they may call me best friend’s character, The Lunatic Fringe but in my mind, these unicorn loving, Booty-O eating morons are the lunatic’s around here. I don’t work with them by choice, at least not anymore. There may be some personal feelings there, but that’s another story for another time.

On the other side of the room, stood two men with whom I haven’t really seen or spent time with since our brand split.

The brand split was when the powers that be decided that Raw and Smackdown would be two separate rosters. Jon and I ended up on Smackdown together, while the two men standing across from me, one being my aforementioned brother, and the other…well, I’ve always referred to him as the love of my life. He was always me best friend, besides Jon that is, ended up on Raw.

Colby Lopez, or Seth Rollins to the wrestling world, was the complete opposite to his character. Seth is loud, in your face, and abrasive. While Colby is quiet, calm and a homebody. And that’s what I love about him. His ability to turn it on and off on a dime.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by a nudge on my left. I looked over and Jon smiled.

“Told you I’d find her,” he gloated.

“That’s because you’re the only one who would go out and look for her.” Joe replied, looking across at The New Day guys.

“Anyways,” Paul Levesque, Triple H or our boss, interrupted. “We’ve decided to switch things up tonight. With the newly reunited Shield facing the New Day, we’ve figured, why not bring back all members of the Shield.”

“You mean?” I stuttered.

“Yes, JD,” Stephanie McMahon, our other boss, said with a smile. “You are going to Raw. The most destructive foursome in recent WWE history is back together.”

I couldn’t help the smile that I knew was on my face. Even though all our problems, all I have ever wanted was the be back with my brother and our friends.

“Now, between the seven of you, I’m sure you can sort out how it’s going to happen?”

We all nodded and quickly left the room. As soon as we were far enough away, Jon, Colby and I started jumping around. I jumped on Jon’s back and squeezed his neck. We all couldn’t believe that we were going to be back together.

“You know,” a voice from behind us said. “You could act a little more upset.”

I laughed a bit. And why would I do that? Everyone on the roster knows how miserable we all are. What’s the point?”

“Well,” Kofi said. “That ain’t our fault.”

I jumped off Jon’s back. “Really? Because it sure as hell isn’t mine. You want to have this fight right here, right now because I will. And everyone knows I won’t hold back this time.”

Colby moved in between both groups. “Look, why don’t we all take a bit, cool off and figure out what we are going to do. Then we can meet down at ringside together, is say, 45 minutes?”

Everyone agreed and we all went out separate ways. I walked a head of the guys and quickly made my way to catering. I stopped just inside the door and looked around. Superstars from both rosters were scattered throughout the room. I made my way over to a table where the rest of my family sat.

The Uso’s, Jimmy and Jey or Jon and Josh, and Jon’s wife Naomi, or Trinity, were some of the very few who kept me going after Wrestlemania this year. But more on that later.

I sat down next to Trinity and put my head on the table. The group I was sitting with started to laugh. “Fuck off,” I mumbled.

“How nice of you to grace us with your presence, little Uce. Someone got you out of your hole early.” Josh said.

I pulled my head up. “Wow, if I knew you were going to be this nice, I would have gone and sat with Jinder and we all know how much fun that would have been.”

Trinity put her arm around me and pulled me close. “No, no please. Don’t leave me with these fools. You know what they can be like together.”

“Yes, but you married one of the fools. I’m stuck with them for life!”

“That’s true. You ready for tonight?”

“To watch my brothers annihilate the team I’m forced to work with, of course. Plus, I get a ringside view of it too.”

“Girl, I don’t know why you don’t just tell Stephanie and Shane that you can’t work with them anymore. Especially after they moved Jon over.”

“Because I’m not that type of person. Plus, I may not have to worry about it much longer. And I’m hoping to have my stuff out of your place soon”

Jon looked at me and shook his head. “We told you not to worry about all that. My concern is you couch surfing. You really should find somewhere. We’ve told you all the places close to us. Does the rest of your family know you have no home basically?”

“Mom knows I’m between places right now. If she had her way, I would be living back at home. But Joe has no clue and it needs to stay that way.”

“You two still not speaking?”

“Nope. But I have a feeling that’s all going to change soon enough.”

“Ok, now that’s the second thing you’ve said about change. What’s going on? You abandoning us?” 

“Sorry boys and girls, some of us have matches to prep.” I quickly headed out to ringside and saw all the guys standing across from one another. I could see the tension between Jon and the boys of the New Day. There was a lot of history there and none of it good.

Long story short, Austin, or Xavier, and I dated for about nine months. It didn’t end well. Jon didn’t take to well to me being hurt, physically or emotionally and went after Austin. Shortly there after, Jon got moved to Raw. Now whether that was intentional or not, we don’t know. So, I’ve been stuck working with three guys I can’t stand to be around for seven months. Never in a million years, when I got into this business, even after been in NXT twice, did I imagine this wold be where my career would be.

I imagined, after the Shield split the first time and I got sent back to NXT, I’d come back to the main roster and be right in the thick of the woman’s division. But instead, I ended up back where I started, walking down to the ring with three guys. Maybe my cousins were right. Maybe it was time to start speaking up about things. Maybe, this was going to turn into my time to shine.

After helping the guys figure out the end of the match and out big surprise, I headed back to the backstage area. I knew I had to head to our hair and makeup ladies shortly, so I made my way to my locker room to get dressed. As I approached the door, I noticed my brother standing against the wall, shocked he had beat me back here.

“Hey” he said.

“Hey,”

“Everything ok?”

“I’m surviving, you?”

“Same. I miss my sister.”

I put my head down. “I miss you too.”

“I’ve heard some things, not sure what to believe. I was hoping we could talk?”

“Now?”

“No, no. We all have to get ready. Maybe after the show? Or after our match?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Cool.”

“Well, I should get changed before I head to get my hair done.”

“Oh yeah. Here,” he handed me a Shield shirt. “Figured you could wear it underneath whatever you are wearing. Maybe do a big reveal after the match.”

I smiled. “That’s a great idea.” I watched as he started to walk away. “Hey,” I yelled, and Joe turned around. “Be careful out there please.”

“I will. You too.”

I walked into my dressing room and sat down. I grabbed my gear out of my bag and as I started to get dressed, a knock sounded through the room. I was really starting to feel very popular

“Come in,” I called out and in walked Stephanie.

“Hey kiddo, I know your getting ready. So, I’ll make this quick. This move to Raw should have happened a long time ago and for that I am sorry.”

“Steph, you don’t have to, it’s ok.”

“No, it’s not. You’ve been through so much in the last seven months that I’m surprised you keep coming back.”

“Trust me, it’s been tough. For a long time, I haven’t known how much more I could do.”

“And that’s why everyone has pushed for this.”

“Everyone?”

“Joe, Jon, Shane, and Bryan. More so Jon. He never wanted to leave you behind and that’s on us. Now, this is going to be your time to shine. Creative has done you wrong in so many ways. So now, you are not only going to be back with the hounds, but  
you are going to fight alongside them. You are going to help raise the women’s division up more.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s you time. I can’t wait to see you shine.”

“Wow. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. This has been a long time coming. You deserve this. Now, get ready because we want you to do an interview with Renee on the kickoff show.”

“Sounds good. Do I need a script?”

“Not this time. Questions will be straight forward. Just answer how you think your character should answer. You are just like Jon, in the sense your best stuff is when you go on your own. Just remember, PG.”

We both laughed. “Got it. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

She quickly left, and I was left alone with my thoughts. I was finally getting my chance in this business. You would have that with my lineage, this would have happened ages ago. But, I don’t look like the typical Samoan woman. I have battled rumors of  
infidelity between my parents since I was a kid. While Joe, Jon, and Josh and the rest of the Samoan men all are dark skinned, dark haired. Me, I’m fair skinned and a brunette. I don’t look the part. Even those who see my cousin, Nia Jax compare the two of us to each other. She looks the part. But anyone who has watched me in the ring, have all said that I am just as good as those that have come before me.

I took a deep breathe and headed out of the locker room. As I walked through the halls, I started thinking about all the Smackdown people I was truly going to miss. While I’m not the most sociable person, I also try not the be a complete bitch. 

As I approached the hair and makeup area, I saw a few of the people I was going to miss. Standing together talking was Nikki and Brie Bella, with Brie’s husband Bryan and Colby.

Colby must have seen me coming, judging by the smile that was on my face. Which made everyone turn and smile at me. 

I had become friends with Nikki and Brie just before I headed back down to NXT. And while I come from Florida, all my friends and family were either travelling or were in other parts of the state. So, Nikki had suggested that when she was home, we get together. She helped me a lot when it came to my self-esteem and confidence, because in this business those are the two things that can take the biggest hit.

Originally, I wasn’t as close to Brie as I was Nikki. It wasn’t until I started on Smackdown and working with Bryan that brie and I connected. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the first time Brie and I really spent any time together, Bryan brought me home like a  
lost puppy. Her and I spent a lot of time getting to know one another and have had some awesome adventures over the last year or so.

I approached the group and threw my arms around Nikki.

“What, no love for me?” Brie asked with a smile.

“Nikki was closer,” I replied as I hugged her.

“Don’t worry Brie, I haven’t gotten one at all.” Colby spoke up.

“You haven’t earned one.” I snapped. I turned and looked at Bryan, with my one arm still around Brie. “Have you talked to Paul and Stephanie about tonight?”

“Yes, he replied with a frown. “The band is back together. I bet four are all happy about that.” He looked back and forth between Colby and me.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t wait. Some normalcy is going to be good. I’ll finally be able to relax when I travel.”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Nikki asked.

I pulled her and Brie over to the wall away from anyone nearby who could hear. “I’m going back to the Shield.” I could feel my excitement building.

“No freaking way! That’s amazing!” Brie said as she hugged me again.

Nikki looked at me with a serious face. “I hate to bring down the mood. But what about you two?” She looked over her shoulder at Colby.

“I don’t know yet. I’m focusing on one messed up relationship at a time. Joe and I are going to talk tonight.”

“That’s good. Does he know everything?”

“Not unless Jon or the twins have told him. Which I doubt.”

“JD?” a voice behind us called. I turned around and saw Jackie, my hairstylist, waving me over.

I walked over and sat down. “Make me beautiful.”

“Won’t take much,” I heard Colby whisper.

“Can we not do this now?” I asked him.

“Do what? I’m just making a comment. It won’t take much work to make you beautiful. It’s the truth. Did you get a shirt?” 

I looked around to make sure no one could hear. “yeah, Joe brought me one earlier.”

“Good. We will talk at some point, right?”

I took a deep breathe. “Yeah, Colbs we will. Just give me a few days to adjust to my new schedule.”

“Of course. Are you still in Florida?”

“Um,” I hesitated, not knowing where I would be staying by decided to wing it. “I should be. I’ll let you know.”

He started to nod. “Sounds good. I’ll see you out there. Be careful.”

“I will. You too.”

As I watched him walk away, I couldn’t help but think about how everything disintegrated between us, how he was able to keep close with Joe and Jon but not me.

Nikki came over and sat in the empty chair in front of me. “That looked intense. You ok?”

“Yeah it’s wasn’t as bad as it looked. He wants to get together to talk.”

“Well, that’s good. Maybe you can finally tell him.”

“No way, that’s not happening. No unicorn shit tonight please, Jackie.”

“Why not?” Jackie asked.

“Trying something different,” I smiled.

Nikki grabbed my hand. “Why won’t you tell him?”

“Because, I don’t want to be that cliché chick flick. Girl gets hurt by boy, boy slinks back into girl’s life. Girl admits she loves him, they get married, blah, blah, blah. A lot has happened in the last three years that Colby and I need to talk about. Do I love him? Oh god, there isn’t a part of me that doesn’t. And that scares me.”

“That boy loves you,” Brie said as she stood beside me and took my hand. “Anyone who has ever stood in the same room as you guys can see that.”

“Then why did he do what he did?”

“You have to look at the position he was in. He was about to become the face of the company. And he had all kinds of personal drama too as it turns out. Look at it this way, he was keeping you away when all that drama went down. Did you really want to be around when all that happened?”

“Not really.”

“Exactly, so you can’t be mad at him for that. Look, you guys have both matured over the last three years. Who knows, maybe it just wasn’t meant to happen back then and now it is. You’ll never know unless you say something.”

“Yeah, you could be right. I don’t know. I’ve got to deal with fixing one relationship at a time right now.” 

I felt Jackie pat me on the shoulder signaling I was done. I got up and mover over to the make-up chair. I looked over as Brie and Nikki followed me. We sat talking as I got my make-up done. As soon as that was finished, the three of us headed down to  
catering. We almost made it there when the twins both saw their significant others and I was quickly left alone, which if I was being honest, that was what I needed at that point. I was starting to fell a little overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the last few hours. I didn’t know what was more overwhelming, knowing in the next couple of hours I’d be shocking the world and reuniting with my brother and best friends; or the fact that after all, Joe and I were finally going to sit down and talk.

Joe and I never used to be this distant. We were as thick as thieves growing up, alongside our older brother Matt. We did everything together, even training. It wasn’t until an incident after an NXT takeover event that really threw us apart. I had really hoped that when we lost Matt at the beginning of the year, that we would have fixed everything. And maybe it’s my fault, I have been known to hold grudges.

I felt someone standing in front of me, where I had stepped to lean against the wall. I opened my eyes and saw Jon and his wife, Renee, standing there.

“Why do you keep sneaking up on me?” I laughed.

“Me? You’re the one standing in the middle of the hallway. Are you okay?”

“Um yeah.” We started walking together. “Just feeling a tad nervous. Tonight’s a big deal.”

“Not really.”

“Maybe for you it isn’t. This is major for me. I may finally start getting opportunities that I should have gotten months ago.”

“That’s not all that’s bothering you, is it?” Renee spoke up, putting an arm around me.

I shook my head. “Nope. There’s so much going on. My brain doesn’t know what to focus on first.” 

“Focus on your interview on the kickoff show. And I hate to do this, but I have to go and get ready for said show. Are you going to be okay with this group of clowns?”

I looked around and noticed that we were in a darkened part of the arena and standing in front of us was Joe and Colby.

“Yeah, I think I’ll be ok.” I watched as Renee gave Jon a kiss and walk away. “Just like old times, eh boys?”

All three laughed before Joe spoke up. “Yeah, I remember how disgusting some of those places were. At least now, we don’t have to do those hand-held promos any more.”

I sat on a stack of crates. “Aw, I loved those. They were so much fun.”

“I can’t tell if your being sarcastic or not.”

“Totally not. I know I’m the only one that liked them. But they were so cool to watch back. Some of my favorite stuff we did was when it was just the four of us.”

“Oh, admit it,” Colby scoffed. “You loved it when we all went our separate ways.”

“Really, jackass? Of course, you would think that. You were on top of the world. All three of you were. You had your paths paved in fucking gold. And me? I just floated by the wayside. Then I got sent back to NXT because some bitches in the locker  
room decided to jump me. And even down there, I was stuck in limbo again. Flash forward to the draft, I end of the land of opportunity or, so I thought. So, no, Colby I didn’t love it when we all split. It nearly killed me in the end.” I jumped off the crates and felt Jon put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed. “You know this was supposed to be a happy night for all of us. But at least I’m not nervous anymore.” I turned to walk away and walked right into Jon’s arms. I hugged him back tightly.

“Are you ok?” He whispered in my ear.

I quickly nodded.

“Ok. We’re going to kill it out there, all of us. I probably shouldn’t ask this but…did you take your pills this morning?”

I pulled out of the hug and looked up at him. “Yeah I did. May need to take a spare if this keeps up.”

“Don’t worry about it. Everything will be find. Just focus on the kickoff with Renee and we can go from there. Are you going to head that way now?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok. Go relax. I’ll see you out there.” I started to walk away but he grabbed my arm. “I love you kiddo.”

“I know,” I smiled. “I love you too.”

I walked away from the guys knowing that when the dust settled at the end of the night, there were going to be lots to work through.

 

Jon watched JD walk away and slowly turned back towards his brothers. He took a deep breathe, stretched out his neck, and hopped onto the stack of crates.

“Is she going to be ok?” Joe asked.

“Oh yeah. Her meds are still adjusting, and she’s stressed out. She’s still adjusting as well. It’s only been a few months since everything happened.”

“Please, don’t remind me.”

“You? What about me? I’m the one that got the phone call from her while she was in my guest bathroom. I’m the one who had to leave and pray that I got to her on time.”

Colby moved in between his brothers. “Guys, this isn’t helping anything. It’s something none of us want to remember at this point. But it’s not something to easily walk away from. Eventually, we all together, the four of us, are going to have to sit and all talk about it.”

“Good luck with that,” Joe said. “She won’t even talk to my mom about it. I’ve tried but where our relationship stands right now, she’s not talking to me about much.”

“We have talked about it. Not in detail but enough for me to understand things better. But you are right, this isn’t helping. We need to get ready.” Jon said before hoping off the crates and starting to leave.

“Jon, are you ok?” Colby asked.

“For now. Once we get out there, it’ll be better because at the end of it all, she’s coming home. I should have pushed harder for her to come with me after Wrestlemania. But I can’t think about it. We’re good boys. Let’s go out and kill it tonight. She the world why we’re still the best.”

The three men laughed and headed back towards the locker rooms. They all knew no matter how they felt about each other, they were still family. And family stuck together.

 

I made my way back to our main backstage area, sat down and waited. I knew someone would eventually come and find me when it was time for my interview.

I knew it was wrong of me to snap at Colby like I did but no one has truly known how hard things have been. I know I’m not the first or the last person to go through hard times but at one point the hits just felt like they were never going to stop. So  
maybe, I had done something drastic, but it didn’t feel like it at the time.

I heard laughing from behind and I turned to see Sasha and Bayley, Mercedes and Pamela to us, coming up behind me. I got to know both ladies while I was back in NXT and we became pretty good friends, staying in touch when we all went our separate ways and got together when we could. The girls sat down with me and we were able to chat for a few minutes before a PA came and got me for the kickoff interview. I quickly bid the girls goodbye and headed to the kickoff stage. When I arrived, they were showing the video package previewing the Shield vs. the New Day. I sat down between Renee and Pete Rosenberg.

Renee looked at me, concern written across her face. “Are you ok?”

I quickly nodded. “Yeah. The guys and I had a little bad moment, but we’ll be good.”

Before she could respond, the producer started to count her in.

“As we’ve just seen the match-up between the Shield and the New Day is sure to be a monumental fight. Joining us now, is one person who knows both groups very well. Please welcome, JD.”

“Thanks Renee. It certainly is going to be a fight for sure.”

“You obviously know both these teams really well. Who do you think has the advantage here?”

“Well, usually I would say the Shield hands down but my boys in the New Day have gotten inside the heads of everyone at Raw. Do I think the Shield is dangerous, sure. I’ve been to war with the Shield. I know how they think, how they act. If anyone has  
the advantage, it’s me. I’m the inside man for both teams.’

“Ok, so that leads to my next question. What have you told the New Day about the Shield and has anyone from the Shield, say your brother Roman Reigns, come to you about the New Day?”

“Nope. Now even if Roman wanted to come to me, I wouldn’t help him out. He’s the big dog, The Guy, he doesn’t need little old me.”

“JD, you said no one has come to you, so not even the New Day has asked you?” Pete asked.

I laughed. “The New Day doesn’t need my help. Have you seen what they have accomplished? If it wasn’t for my boys in blue, Seth and Dean would still be the tag team champions. It took Raw three weeks to fire back. Tonight, the Blue Brand is going to  
show why we are the A show.”

“Were you surprised to see Seth, Dean and Roman team up again?” Renee asked.

“I’ve got to say I was a little. I didn’t know we trusted weasels. But if Dean and Roman want to jump back into bed with the snake, it’ll be their own fault if they get bit.”

“So, you still don’t trust Rollins?” Pete questioned.

“Would you trust a dog after it bit you? Would you snuggle up to it in bed or play with it in the yard? No!”

“Any words for the Shield going into this match?” Renee asked.

“They should be careful not to underestimate the New Day. They may have fun and by goofy but when it comes down to business, they are as focused as they can get. I just wish I could be apart of it.”

“You won’t be at ringside?”

“Oh, I will be. But I will be staying back. As much as I despise Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns will always be my brothers. But tonight, I bleed blue. Therefore, I’ll silently watch.”

“Well, it should be a fantastic match-up. Thank you so much for stopping by.”

“Thank you.”

The producer tells us they’ve gone to break, and I stand up to take my mic off. Renee leans over and gives me a hug.

“You did good.”

“Really? I thought I was shaky.”

“God, no. I don’t know why they don’t let you cut more promos. You are awesome. The stuff about Seth was so convincing.”

“Good. I wasn’t sure.”

“Don’t worry about it. Have fun. I’ll talk to you after the match.”

I headed back towards the locker room, feeling pretty good about my interview. For the first time in a long time, I felt like things were finally turning my way. That was until I saw my soon-to-be former tag team, standing in front of me, not looking  
happy.

“What the hell was that?” Austin yelled at me.

“What are you talking about?” I fired back, knowing we were going to end up attracting some attention.

“Out there with Renee, talking about how no one has come to you asking for help. Why would we come to you for help?”

“Wow, you really don’t know how promos and interviews go in this business do you? I was asked a question and I answered. I did my job like I was told to. You have a problem with it you can take it up with management, not me!”

“Were you told to make us look like assholes?”

“No, I enjoy doing that without a script. Sometimes, you don’t even need me to do that. You do a fine job on your own.”

“Keep it up.”

“Why? You going to put your hands on me? Look how well that turned out for you the last time. Don’t forget who you’re getting into the ring with.”

“Hey, hey. What’s going on?” Shane McMahon said as he approached from behind the New Day.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” the deep voice of my brother came from behind me. Joe put his arm around me shoulders and I immediately felt myself relax.

“This bit…” Austin started before Kofi stopped him.

“Just a difference of opinions within the team,” Big E, Ettore, replied.

“Really? That’s not how it sounded to me. Why don’t we let Austin finish his sentence?” When Austin was silent, Joe looked down at me. “What about you, baby girl? Do you feel it was a difference of opinions?”

“Far from it, big bro. Some people can’t remember what we here to do. We are here to put on a show and make things believable. We need the fans to be invested. I went out there and did what I was told. I did what no one realizes I can do. And I’m going to keep doing it without you.” I said staring at the New Day.

“Alright, let’s all calm down and head to our separate corners,” Shane said getting between us. “You guys don’t have long before the show starts.”

I turned and walked away, knowing Joe was following. I finally stopped walking and looked up at him.

“Thank you.”

“What for?”

“Having my back.”

“No matter what is going on between us, I’m always going to be there. I know I’ve fucked that up in the past, but I want to fix that. I promise from now on, I’m going to try and make sure nothing bad happens to you.”

I laughed. “Good luck. I’ve always been a bad luck magnet.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Look let’s get this done tonight and then we can talk and move forward.

“I would love to.”

“Good. I’ve got to go, find the guys and head upstairs. Put that smile on your face and your head on a swivel out there.” 

He gave me a quick hug and walked away from me. I looked at the clock and noticed that the pyro would be going off in a few minutes. I made my way to the guerilla position, mentally preparing myself for what was to come. I’m always ready to be down in the ring, that’s what I was born for. It’s being in the ring with these six men I needed to prepare myself for. A lot of this fight was personal, and a lot of that is because of me. Not saying what happened was my fault, it was far from it. But joe and Jon wanted Austin’s head. It certainly was going to be a good fight.

When I got to guerilla, I looked at all the people in the crowd on the monitor. This was going to be a good night.

 

Big E looked over at me and nodded. I nodded back signalling I was ready. As he started our intro, I heard the crowd start to roar. I took a deep breathe as our music started and followed the guys through the curtain. I watched as they danced and clapped down the ramp. I walked down behind them, high fiving the fans as I went.

Of course, the guys needed to talk trash before they got to the ring. We all climbed, well I climbed, the New Day slid, into the ring and I went and leaned against the ropes, barely listening to what was being said.

When I heard them start talking about being brothers, I really started to listen. Kofi started talking about the time would come where one of the members of the Shield would turn on the others. I had to remind myself we were in front of the crowd and cameras before I reacted. I could see E staring at me, so I shrugged my shoulders and mouthed Seth.

E laughed and handed me a mic. “Oh, it’ll totally be Seth. Everyone knows a leopard doesn’t change its spots and a snake may shed its skin but underneath it’s still a snake. The Shield is a thing of the past. Everyone has moved on. I know I have. And now I stand shoulder to shoulder with WWE’s greatest tag team and you all know why?” The guys took over with the ‘New Day Rocks’ chants.

I watched the Tron, back leaning up again the ropes as they showed the video package once again. As the cameras came back to us, I took a deep breathe. For the first time in three years, I was finally going to be back in the ring with my family.

‘Sierra, Hotel India, Echo, Lima, Delta, Shield’. I think the crowd began to scream louder when Seth, Dean and Roman stood at the top of the stairs. I felt like I made eye contact with Seth and it gave me chills.

I followed their every step as they walked through the WWE universe. When they hopped over the barricade, I moved further into our corner, acting as if I was protecting myself. When really, I wished I could be standing right beside them. ‘Tomorrow,’ I  
kept reminding myself.

I hopped out of the ring as all six men stood toe to toe. I decided to watch the action from in front of the announcers table. But I quickly found myself pacing between both sides of the ring. 

Finally, Dean and Kofi locked up. It seemed as if each man was trying to one up the other. Each man, on each team, knew who they could go toe to toe with, who their equal was.

Just as quickly as the match started, it turned in favor for the Shield. They started mocking the New Day by doing their corner stomps on Big E. I closed my eyes and took a deep breathe. I knew I was going to have to play good teammate/cheerleader. I  
walked over closer to the Shield’s corner yelling at the ref as I went. As I got closer to the guys, Roman tagged Dean in and seemed to notice me on the outside. 

He turned towards me and started walking. I stopped where I was and put my hands up.

“You stay back!” he said as he pointed at me.

“Then fight fair,” I yelled back as I backed up towards my corner.

It seemed as if a switch was flipped and everything switched. As the New Day were hitting their infamous ‘Unicorn Stomps’ on Dean, I couldn’t help but look over at Roman and shrug my shoulders. I also couldn’t help but realize that the boys were using this opportunity for some payback on Dean. They were just lucky Roman had no clue.

I realized I needed to be paying closer attention to the match when I saw Big E basically spear Dean off the ring apron. I slowly walked over to asses the carnage and saw Seth standing there as well. We made eye contact and he started to back away. As E got Dean back into the ring, I noticed how intense the match was getting, each team showing just how dominate they could be. 

Dean was finally able to tag Seth in and he shoots like a canon, hitting everything that moved. As Xavier got in, him and Seth started trading shots. After a buckle bomb and a running lariat, Xavier was done, but not done enough.

As much as I wanted to be more vocal, I knew that I could easily slip up, so I decided to just stand back and watch, waiting for my opportunity.

Suddenly, Seth and Dean double teamed Kofi. Dean hit his finisher ‘Dirty Deeds’ on Xavier and Seth covered. ‘Thankfully’ Xavier broke it up. As Seth calls to Dean and Roman to end it, I back in between the announce tables to be out of the way as much  
as possible. Just when the crowd thought the match was over, as the Shield went to lift Xavier up for the triple power bomb, E and Kofi pulled Roman out of the ring. With Roman out of the way, at least for a few minutes, the New Day hit Dean with two separate splashes. 

As E went to pick Dean up for a ‘Midnight Hour’, Seth tried to block it. But instead got picked up and they dropped both with a finisher.

After Roman came back in and hit spears on almost everyone, all six men backed into their respected corners to regroup.

On the outside, I was calm, but on the inside, I couldn’t contain myself. I knew my time was finally coming.

As both teams started to brawl, I made my way over to where I needed to be. My hands started to shake as I could hear some of the fans wondering what was going on.

I could see Dean and Big E sprawl out to the one side, in front of the announce table, while Seth and Xavier landed in front of me. I stepped in front of Xavier facing Seth.

“This isn’t about you. Get out of the way and don’t get involved,” Seth said. “Your brother wouldn’t want this.”

I stepped closer to Seth. “What? This?” I turned to the side and got Xavier with a superkick and threw him into a smiling Seth Rollins who then hit him with a high knee.

I stood there with a sneer on my face as I watched Big E get hit with a ‘Dirty Deeds’. I looked up and saw Kofi, staring down at me.

“What are you doing?” He yelled.

“Whatever I need to do to survive. Remember, a dog will only take a beating so long.”

Kofi quickly turned around and hit Roman with a kick to the face, which didn’t faze him at all and Roman turned it into a spear.

With Kofi down, I slid into the ring with Dean and Seth. I looked at all three guys and then to the top rope. When I looked back at the guys, I pointed to Kofi and then gave a thumb up. Roman smiled at me as I directed traffic, he started climbing to sit  
on the top rope. 

I looked over at Seth and Dean. “Pick him up,” I yelled as the crowd started to roar.

I watched as they lifted Kofi onto Roman’s shoulders, climbed up onto either side of him and leaped off, hitting the triple power bomb.

Dean quickly covered, after show boating a little, and gets the 1,2,3. The bell rang ad their music played as the crowd cheered. I smile and nodded my head before starting to make my way out of the ring. I felt a tug on my shirt that caused me to stop. I felt the tug again as the New Day shirt I was wearing began to rip, revealing the black underneath. I pulled the shirt off the rest of the way and turn to the cameras with a smile on my face. I didn’t think the crowd could get any louder, but once they all saw what I was wearing, they nearly blew the roof off.

Roman put his arms around my neck and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Welcome home,” he whispered in my ear.

I laughed when he let go and went and joined Seth and Dean in celebrating and hamming it up to the fans. I threw my arms up pointing at the guys, taking in everything and enjoying every second of it.

 

Tuesday, January 28, 2018

As I lay in a hospital bed, in Birmingham, Alabama, I couldn’t help but reflect on the last two months. So much had happened, mostly good things. I looked down at where my engagement ring should be, knowing it was on a chain around Colby’s neck.

I knew that my injury, while had already forced me to relinquish the Woman’s Championship last night, would only force me to be better. Maybe I should steal my fiancée’s mantra. It’s time to Rebuild, Redesign and Reclaim!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed what you just read. I have left hints in there that I am considering doing other stories in this verse. Please feel free to let me know what you think, but be gentle.


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